


Poly-Doo

by EpicNerd



Category: Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated (Cartoon 2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, Legend of Alice May, Multi, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, mystery incorporated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:07:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28739976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicNerd/pseuds/EpicNerd
Summary: A rewrite of the Mystery Incorporated episode “The Legend of Alice May” in which that the gang is in a polyamorous relationship together.
Relationships: Daphne Blake/Fred Jones, Daphne Blake/Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake/Velma Dinkley/Fred Jones/Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, Fred Jones/Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, Velma Dinkley & Norville "Shaggy" Rogers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	Poly-Doo

Fred’s attention was torn between watching the Vincent Van Ghoul movie that he and the gang were watching, how soft Daphne’s hand felt in his own, and how Shaggy would flinch closer to him and hide under his blanket whenever a scary moment happened in the movie. He couldn’t see Velma since she was laying on the floor with her head in Daphne’s lap, but he was sure that she was probably paying more attention to her phone than the movie. He was also sure that Scooby Doo was off in the kitchen, getting into food.

“Do you all want to go to prom this year? Shaggy, I know it falls on the same day as the Van Ghoul marathon, but we can come back and watch the movies later,” Velma spoke up during a commercial break.

The gang thought about it, considering what it would mean to go to a public event as a group in a small town such as Crystal Cove. Fred’s dad and both Shaggy and Daphne’s parents didn’t even know about their relationship.

Admittedly, it had been a weird step for the gang, even considering the facts that they rode around in a green-and-blue van solving mysteries and that they had a talking dog. Still, being together, all of them, made them happy. For them, it made perfect sense that they’d all be dating each other. How could it be any other way? Why would it be any other way?

“Yeah, let’s do it! I’ll get the tuxes. Shaggy, you get the tickets. Velma, you can rent the limo. And Daphne can get the dresses. It’ll be perfect!” Fred chirped, mapping out the plan in his head as if it were another one of his traps.

“Like, good idea, you two.”

“It’ll be so much fun!” Daphne exclaimed, excited that she wouldn’t have to hide how much she wanted to go.

For so long, she had dreamed about going to prom with Fred, dancing the night away before taking a moonlit walk down the beach together. Now, Shaggy and Velma were in that dream, too.

***

The next day at school, Daphne was a bit more jittery than she had been the night before, but Fred was oblivious to such. She kept looking around at the posters promoting the prom hung up on the wall.

“Fred, about prom-“

“Isn’t it going to be great? You, me, and the rest of the gang; it’ll be awesome!” Fred replied, rummaging through his locker.

“Yeah...the gang…”

“Originally, I was planning to just work on my traps that night, but this could be way more fun!”

Normally, Daphne didn’t pay mind to Fred’s lack of volume control, but today it was making her more and more agitated.

“Last night, I had asked my parents for the money to go dress shopping with Velma, and they had asked why I was buying her dress. I slipped and explained that she was renting the limo, and they looked at me like I had two heads. Maybe-“

“Oh, buttercups. Come on, open.”

Fred’s head turned away and towards the sound of metal rustling and a girl talking. The girl in question tried once again to open her locker to no avail, checking her slip to make sure she was using the right numbers for the combination.

“Let me try. These are Series S Geyser Tumblers. Sometimes they stick,” Fred said, walking over and trying to unlock it himself.

It opens with a  _ click _ , and he steps aside to give her access while smiling.

“Wow! That’s amazing,” the girl said, flipping her hair behind her shoulder, “Thank you so much. My name’s Alice. Alice May. I’m new!”

“Fred Jones, and this is-”

“New, huh? Well, good luck. Come on, Freddy, let’s go,” Daphne interrupted before beginning to walk away, trying to not let her temper at being ignored completely bubble over.

“You know, this school can be like a maze. I’ve actually made several models of it in my spare time to chart my class route,” Fred says, still standing next to and talking to Alice.

Daphne turned back around, her mouth slightly agape as she watched Fred present a small model of their school to Alice.

“Oh, how sweet! Thanks, Fred. Well, I think I’m going to like it here.”

Daphne groaned, her eyebrows furrowed. Her temper and stubbornness had been something she has been scolded for numerous times by her parents, and yet those scoldings meant nothing to her as she could only see red. She knew better than to let her jealousy get to her, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been discarded, swept to the side, when she was trying to be emotionally vulnerable to Fred. It stung, especially since his attention had been taken away by some strange girl. Nonetheless, Daphne took a deep breath and pushed the festering feeling down, resolving to go find Shaggy and Velma before class.

Later on in the day, the school was gathered in the theatre room, the mayor and sheriff standing to the side of the stage. Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby were already there and sitting together, but Fred was missing. Velma was openly holding Shaggy’s hand and discreetly holding Daphne’s. The brunette could tell that the other girl was anxious about something, but Daphne wouldn’t do anything but look to the auditorium doors, much less say anything.

As the only one in the group who had come out to her parents about the gang’s relationship, it was harder for Velma to understand what Daphne was feeling, but she had a hunch that it did have to do with prom. Shaggy had been texting her about it late into the night about his own worries, though they were slightly different. Velma could only hope that these worries would be short-lived and in vain.

Finally, Fred walked into the room, Alice May in tow. Velma could feel Daphne’s hand tighten over her own, and she rubbed small circles on the back of her palm to try and calm her down.

“Hey, gang. This is Alice,” Fred said, walking over to where the others were sitting and gesturing to Alice beside him, “She’s new. I’ve been kind of showing her around.”

“Fred’s like my white knight!” Alice added, sitting in the seat between Daphne and Fred.

“What a sweetie,” Daphne grumbled.

Even Shaggy was trying to grab Fred’s eye to signal that things were off, but the blond remained ever oblivious. Velma just looked at Shaggy and shook her head before nodding towards the stage, where the mayor looked as if he were to begin speaking.

“And now, if you could all quiet down, Sheriff Stone has a few words. Sheriff?”

“Thank you, Mayor,” Stone said, stepping up to the podium and causing the mic to have a bit of feedback, “Prom, yes. Obviously, we want a safe, enjoyable evening. As some of you might be aware, there have been several recent reports of a phantom limousine with a ghost girl inside, stealing young men away into the night. It probably is part of some arcane ritual.”

Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other, whimpering quietly. Unbeknownst to them, the ghost girl in question was already in the room with them, already aware of their existence, already having decided that they were to be her targets for attention. 

“Because of this, we are advising all students not to get into phantom limousines on prom night if at all possible. That’s all I’ve got.”

The ghost girl discreetly covered her mouth so as not to reveal her smile, hanging on to every word of the sheriff’s “warning” about her, not that it would do anyone any good. Her cold eyes watched his and the gang’s every movement, studying and analyzing her future victims.

“Jinkies. Talk about a bad date,” Velma said, her brain already whirling at the mystery presented before her.

“I’ll say. Gang, I think we’ve got a new mystery on our hands,” Fred said, standing up.

“Well, I better get going. Still a lot of unpacking to do at my house,” Alice said after the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

“Need a lift?”

“That’s ok. I like walking. It was nice meeting all of you.”

As Alice walked away, Velma and Shaggy said their goodbyes and waved, having already let go of each other’s hands when standing up. The palms of Daphne’s hands dug into her hips as she looked away, scowling. Every minute of Alice being around seemed to only add to her annoyance.

“Hey, Daph, are you coming?” Fred asked, not picking up on her mood,

“I’m going to walk, too. Besides, I want to do some more research on those kids who disappeared in the Crystal Cove caves; the ones Mr. E warned us about. I’d hate to leave them feeling...unheard!” Daphne retorted, getting close to Fred’s face as she put emphasis on the last word before walking away.

The ginger girl stalked off to the library, leaving the gang behind. With every step, her anger dissolved until she was left with nothing but a feeling of cruminess that she couldn’t shake. So, she buried herself in reading. Taking countless books to a table, she began scanning each and every line for something that alluded to either the kids themselves or some event in Crystal Cove history that could allude to their disappearances.

Her face scrunched up as she concentrated, her head leaning more and more into her hand as she flipped through page after page. When the words began blending together, she sighed in frustration and stood up to put some of the books back. Not knowing who they were, or even when they were in Crystal Cove proved very difficult for her to find something on them. All she could do was decipher when the photo from the locket was taken and then work up through history from there.

Turning her attention towards the collected newspapers that the library had been storing for decades, Daphne grabbed as many issues as she could carry before bringing them back to her table. Even more time passed as she bore over information that served no use to her.

That is, until she began looking through articles dating back 20 years prior; that yielded something interesting. Holding one of the newspapers up directly in front of her, she was able to see the wall on the other side of the room. Someone had cut out pieces of the article. Looking at other ones with similar dates showed the same treatment, same tampering.

“Weird. It’s like someone has erased everything about the missing kids.”

Daphne took the locket she had found in the caves out of her pocket, opening it up to look at the picture of the boy and girl once again.

“Who doesn’t want you found?”

The lamp on the table switches off, leaving the room in darkness as the sun had fallen hours ago. Daphne gasped for reaching forward, tugging on the chord that should’ve illuminated the lamp once more. However, she was met with no light.

“Hello? Someone there? I’m still working,” she called out.

With no reply, Daphne took out her phone and turned on its flashlight so that she could find her way over to the wall and, more importantly, the switch. However, flipping it up and down produced as much result as the lamp did. A shadow rushed by, footsteps echoing in the silent room. Startled, Daphne drops her phone, whipping around.

“Who’s there? Velma? Fred?”

Her heart pounding in her chest as the moonlight seeping in from the windows played tricks on her. One of the shadows cast by the moon moved upwards, its true size obscured by the arching of the ceiling. Then, another one appeared, this one far more distinct, and Daphne could barely look at it before it flitted away. No, it  _ ran  _ away. Something was in the room with her, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Still, she pushed her fear aside and charged towards the direction of the silhouette, refusing to let it get the better of her. Weaving through bookcases, she slowed as no sign of the figure showed itself. That is, until one of the bookcases was pushed over, nearly crushing Daphne. She could feel the air rushing out from underneath it brush against her feet as she narrowly leaped out of the way, hitting the ground and tumbling as she screamed and groaned.

Thoroughly angered, Daphne looked up to see the figure leave through one of the library exits. Springing back up, Daphne rushed outside into the abandoned halls of the school. Even less light shone through, and the clicking of her heels against the floor echoed loudly, as if tauntingly reminding her that she was the only one around making noise. However, another sound rips through the air. A door creaked, its hinges whining at being used.

“Huh?!”

The only nearby door in that direction was the girls’ locker room, so that is exactly where Daphne went to explore. Opening the same door that creaked before, she stepped into the room that was almost in complete darkness. 

“Hello?”

She could, however, still see that there were puddles of water on the floor that accompanied the dripping sounds from the showers lining the wall.

“Maybe it’s just my imagination,” she said with a sigh.

Carefully making her way across the room, Daphne approached the row of sinks with a large mirror above them. Turning on one of the faucets, she cupped some water in her hands before splashing her face, hoping that the coldness would wash away her fear and tiredness.

When she opened her eyes and looked up, the reflection of a horribly disfigured silhouette was standing behind her. Daphne let out a shriek, whipping around. And yet, the only thing there to meet her gaze was just Alice, not even reacting to the other girl’s scream.

“Daphne, it's just me.”

“I-What are you doing in here?” Daphne asked, her heart still racing.

“I was using the showers. They haven’t turned the water on at my house yet. I didn’t think anyone was still at school. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, I’m sorry. I thought I was alone, too. You must think I’m pretty silly.”

“What’s silly about being scared?”

Daphne wasn’t sure if Alice meant the tone she delivered, but something about it was unsettling, leaving her with an uncomfortable feeling.

“Well, it’s getting late. I should be going home. Coming?” Daphne asked quickly, brushing past Alice.

“No, thanks. Still got some cleaning up to do.”

Daphne left the room without another word, trying to remember how to walk normally as she rounded a corner. Luckily, she peered back around it just in time to watch Alice leave, walking up to the door leading to the school’s basement, and take out a key before using it to get inside, closing the door behind her.

***

The next day, the gang met up at Angel’s radio station, “K-Ghoul”, to discuss the Ghost Girl case.

“I’m telling you, she’s up to something.”

“Come on, Daph,” Fred interjected, “So Alice was using the shower and hanging out in the school basement late at night. Haven’t we all?”

“What if Alice is the ghost girl the sheriff mentioned? You could be in danger, Fred.”

“Don’t you think I’d know if she were a ghost girl?”

“I’d be willing to bet no,” Velma joked, teasing the boy.

“Yeah, me, too!” Scooby added.

While Shaggy was paying more attention to beating the game on the arcade machine that Angel let him use, Velma and Scooby were listening intently, their heads moving in time to look at Fred or Daphne as they spoke. Velma wasn’t necessarily ruling Alice out as a suspect. However, it’d be naive to ignore that Daphne already had a disliking for Alice, though such feelings had never intervened in their investigations before. A suspect was better than no suspect, so Velma listened to Daphne’s argument rather than dismissing it just yet.

“Like, what do we really know about Alice?”

Fred was surprised that Shaggy had actually been listening to the conversation, but he answered nonetheless.

“Besides the fact that she’s super nice, and her hair smells like peaches, and sometimes I get lost in her eyes, and-”

“Fred Jones! Do you like this girl?” Daphne interrupted, hurt in her voice.

Fred paused, his smile dropping as he looked at her nervously. His mind blanked for a moment before it finally registered that she was upset. And yet, he knew that things would only get worse if you looked to Shaggy or Velma to clue him in on how to make things right.

“Wow, look at the time,” Fred said instead, pointing to his empty wrist.

“You’re not wearing a watch, Freddy.”

“Oh. Well, I better go find one, then.”

Daphne watched helplessly as Fred quickly left the studio. Velma, sensing a deep mood shift, stood up, taking Daphne’s hand in both of hers and resting her chin on the other girl’s shoulder. Shaggy thought about comforting Daphne as well, but he was a bit upset, himself.

What had drawn Shaggy to a relationship between him and the gang was a deep emotional bond connected through years of memories and experiences together. How they all clicked together so effortlessly made him feel so warmed and welcomed within their group. For Fred to be showing interest in someone outside of their group didn’t strum a chord of jealousy in Shaggy, as it did Daphne, but rather ones of confusion and loneliness. Did Fred not think of their relationship the way he did? Did he not find the same sort of value to him? Was that how the others thought as well?

Shaggy was pulled out of his spiral of nerves and anxiety to the sound of Angel’s voice speaking up, forcing him back into reality.

“You guys should take a look at this. That boy your ghost girl grabbed a couple of towns over? Baby, he wasn’t the first,” Angel said, looking away from the computer with an article pulled up.

Still holding Daphne’s hand, Velma walked over to the computer, examining the page.

“These attacks go back to the turn of the century.”

“Looks like your ghost girl’s building herself a man posse.”

“Zoinks! Like, what if Fred’s her latest possum?” Shaggy asked, a pit of worry welling in his stomach.

“Not on my watch,” Daphne said, turning around to leave; already on the move.

“Exactly how did you get Alice May’s address again?” Velma asked from the passenger seat of the Mystery Machine.

“I found it in her locker. I noticed the combination while Fred was helping her. Lucky, huh?”

Even Shaggy took a moment to look away from the road at Daphne before shaking his head and returning his attention to driving. He would soon come to wish he hadn’t when the directions have him pulling up to Crystal Cove’s cemetery. Its tall, sharp iron bars loomed over them, fog from the earlier rain settling down low to the ground. Some trees hadn’t fully grown back their leaves from the winter, and their limbs stretched out like boney hands to grab them.

“Like, tell me she moved,” Shaggy said, barely mustering the courage to just get out of the van.

“Well, what about Freddy?” Scooby added.

“I left him a message. Every minute we wait, he could be in danger.”

That statement momentarily solidified Shaggy, Velma, and Scooby’s resolve, and so they followed Daphne when she pushed open the gates.

“We should split up. Cover more ground,” Daphne said, turning back to look at the gang.

“Like, I don’t think that’s such a-”

“I’ll go with Scooby. Velma, you go with Shaggy.”

“Sounds good to me,” Velma replied, grabbing Shaggy’s arm before he could further protest.

The two pairs then broke off, going in opposite directions to explore. Velma and Shaggy looked around the graveyard in silence for a few moments, their flashlights bouncing off of tombstones and casting shadows that twisted and formed shapes that played with Shaggy’s mind, putting him on edge. Velma knew that he had been nervous before Sheriff Stone had even mentioned the Ghost Girl, so it was simple to deduce that the gang’s latest investigation wasn’t the only thing weighing on his mind.

What it could be, however, eluded her conclusion. It wasn’t like Shaggy to not voice when he was afraid about something; he was usually the first one to point out if a situation felt eerie. His silence was what was making her worry.

Then, the answer hit her like a truck, almost physically knocking her back. It seemed so obvious, and yet, for once in her life, she wished she were wrong. The only thing that had changed between Shaggy’s good mood and his nervousness was the decision about prom. Why hadn’t she considered that when asking the gang if they wanted to go? She knew that Shaggy wasn’t one to show affection in a non-intimate setting. Heck, he still hadn’t fully adapted to showing them affection in private in the month since he was introduced to their relationship.

The weight of this epiphany was laced with guilt, so Velma wanted to make sure that that was actually the case before letting herself be down about it.

“So how’s it going with the prom tickets?” Velma asked, finally breaking the silence that had felt like it was creeping up to suffocate her.

“Prom tickets,” he repeated before chuckling nervously, “Like, yeah. Um, I gotta do that.”

His aversion to speaking of the prom, combined with him not having completed his task yet, confirmed Velma’s suspicion and worry.

“Do you not want to go to the prom? If you don’t want to go, just tell me. I’ll understand,” she said soothingly, brushing her fingers against his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, though it is a relief to know that there isn't pressure to do so. It’s just that-well...you know that I struggle, a lot, with romance stuff like that. Like, in the moment, I’m completely fine. I’m cool. I’m chill. I’m-”

“Shaggy.”

“Right. Like, but when I’ve had time to think about it, think about the ways in that I can screw it up for you and the gang, I just feel so nervous that, like, my brain starts trying to convince me to run and not deal with the situation at all. I want to do all these things; I want to dance with you at prom, I want to hold Fred’s hand as we walk down the hallway, I want to do so many things to make you all happy. And yet...I can’t help but freeze from fear of messing up.”

Though Shaggy tried to look away, Velma side-stepped to stay in his line of vision. She planted her hands on his shoulders before embracing him tightly.

“I don’t want you to be afraid, and I’m sorry for putting you in such a position in the first place.”

“Don’t be. Like, I know I need to get better about this, and I know that, for me, I’m not going to be able to just will these thoughts away. I have to force myself to face my worries anyway.”

Velma pulled back to look him in the eyes, though they still held on to each other.

“Whether it be on the couch watching Van Ghoul or dancing the night away, we’ll be by your side, in whatever way you need, every step of the way.”

Shaggy gazed at her for a moment, weighing his options, before he took a deep breath.

“I want to go to the prom with you, with the gang. I may be afraid, but I won’t run away unless you’re all right there beside me.”

“Oh, Shaggy. We’re going to have such a wonderful evening!” Velma said, smiling widely as glee took over her, which in turn rubbed off on Shaggy, as well.

They both grinned at each other before finally letting go and continuing their search, although they never stopped holding hands. On the other side of the graveyard was less of a lightening mood, with Daphne and Scooby passing between tombstones as they looked for anything that could even resemble a clue.

“Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious, Scooby.”

“R-okay.”

Behind them, the ground rumbled before a clawed hand ripped through the dirt, reaching up towards the moon. Daphne and Scooby stopped, and the girl strained her ears to search for a repeating sound.

“Did you hear something?”

“Uh-uh.”

They continued walking only to stop again when something that wasn’t them breathed loudly.

“Rhat time I heard it. Uh-oh.”

They turned around, expecting to see someone standing directly behind them, but they were met with nothing but the empty air and still tombstones. Facing forward again, the light of Daphne’s flashlight never reached the ground, as something was standing in its way.

In a raggedy dress and distorted makeup, the ghost girl gave out a high-pitched laugh before a screech erupted from her throat. Daphne and Scooby let out screams of their own, running as fast as they could as the ghost girl sprinted after them. Shaggy and Velma ran towards the sound, meeting the other pair at the top of a hill.

“Daphne, what-why did you scream?” Velma asked.

“That’s why!” Daphne exclaimed, running past the two.

The ghost girl emerged, leaping up into the air as her cackle rang out through the whole graveyard. Deep in the moonlight, her pointed fingers and jagged teeth almost out-shining her glowing-green eyes that quickly bore into Velma and Shaggy’s. The two teens turned and ran as well, following the lead of Daphne and Scooby.

In trying to escape the ghost’s advance, the four bump into each other, sending them toppling onto tombstones. The rocks crack under the pressure, breaking free from the ground. The four slid down the hill on top of the tombstones, the ghost girl’s shrieking following them faster than gravity could pull them down.

They finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, a looming mausoleum casting them in darkness.

“In there!” Velma shouted, pointing towards it.

The gang shot up, running as fast as they could towards it, barely able to close the door behind them before the shadow of the monster could get in, though they could still hear her growling.

“Like, if that was Alice May, she needs some serious moisturizer!”

“Where are we?” Daphne asked, shining her flashlight over the numerous cobwebs and clumps of dirt and dust.

Velma directed her own flashlight at the sarcophagus, reading the name etched into its stone aloud.

“Carlswell.”

“Carlswell? That’s the Creeper!” Shaggy added.

“The reeper?” Scooby exclaimed, becoming frightened and jumping into Shaggy’s arms.

“Deacon Carlswell, alias “the Creeper.” I remember him. He was robbing banks disguised as a phantom. But in reality, he was actually the bank manager.”

“Hold on. Isn’t Carlswell still in jail-alive?” Velma pointed out.

Stepping forward, she tugged at the cover of the sarcophagus, able to completely pull it off with the help of Daphne. Inside were various items that, at a glance, seemed to have no correlation to one another.

“This is part of the Creeper’s old costume. And look at this-a transfer slip, from Crystal Cove High,” Daphne read out.

Before any of them could ask questions, specifically about who’s name was on the other half of the torn slip, loud bangs sounded from the other side of the door, startling them.

“Zoinks! She’s back! We are doomed!”

The banging quickened before the door swung open, being pushed by Fred.

“Hey, gang. What are you doing in here?”

“Fred!” they all cheered, relief washing over them.

“Wow. This is a neat mausoleum,” Fred said, not noticing their reactions.

However, he did notice when they tackled him in a hug, almost sending him to the ground.

“Fred! You’re safe!” Daphne exclaimed before they let go of him, “I’m not sure how to say this, but Alice May is a ghost. She wants to put you in her...man posse!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Gang, tell him!”

Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma just looked between Daphne and Fred, staying silent.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Um, like, it’s hard to say who attacked us. It could have been Alice May’s really sundried great grandmother,” Shaggy replied, scratching the back of his head.

“Velma? Scooby?”

“I’m sorry, Daph, I’m just not sure.”

“I think I know what this is about,” Fred interjected before Daphne’s interrogation could continue.

“You do?”

“You found out Alice has asked me to the prom, and you think I told her all about how I’m going with all of you.”

“Alice...asked you to the prom?” Daphne asked, feeling herself shrink on the inside.

Fred noticed how she turned away from him, and he looked to Velma and Shaggy for a clue on what to do. All they did was nod towards her with pleading expressions. Still somewhat puzzled, Fred simply takes Daphne in his arms, not being able to help but smile when she rests her head against his chest.

“I’m not completely sure why you’re upset, but I can assure you that everything’s fine. The four of us are still going to go to prom tomorrow night, as planned, and we’re still going to have a great time!”

Daphne sniffled before looking up at him, and that social cue was crystal clear to him. He caressed her face, looking deeply into her shining eyes.

“Do you really mean it?” Daphne asked, still feeling vulnerable.

“Absolutely. It would take the end of the world and then some to tear me away from you all,” Fred said, opening his arm up to invite Shaggy and Velma in.

They gladly accept his offer, and the four embrace, the girls and Shaggy still a bit shaky from the night’s events.

***

Prom Night had finally arrived and Fred felt as if things were going perfectly. He smiled and watched Velma and Shaggy dance together as he himself danced with Daphne. He had tried to dance with Shaggy while the girls were getting punch, but the other boy had declined, quickly and nervously opting out in favor of checking on Scooby, who was outside and watching the limousines come and go, on the lookout for the ghost girl. Velma had to explain to him why Shaggy was so nervous, but he was just as understanding as she was about it.

So, here he was, dancing with Daphne under the shining lights of the disco ball as the hired band played slow music. Their arms were wrapped around each other’s shoulders, standing close together as their feet swayed them from side to side.

“Hey, Daph, what’s with your face? You okay? You look like you’re gonna hork,” Fred asked cheerfully, referring to how her eyes weren’t even opened as she smiled softly.

Not even Fred’s random comments could make her smile falter, though. Everything felt so right in that moment that she couldn’t care about a thing in the world other than how Fred’s hands felt on her and how peaceful she felt.

“This is exactly like my dream. Us, dancing. Then, after, we take a walk in the moonlight, and you whisper in my ear-”

“Scooby!”

“Yeah. What? No!”

“Ranger! Ghost Girl!” Scooby yelled, sprinting towards them, crashing through other couples in the process.

“Ghost girl?” Fred questioned.

Suddenly, the lights switched off, the band stopped playing, and everyone in the room gasped. All heads turned to the stage as the focus fell on the ghost girl, looking directly at them.

“I hope you saved a dance for me, Fred!” she croaked into the microphone, smiling connivingly.

With a terrifying shriek, the ghost leapt off the stage, lunging at the three. However, Shaggy and Velma were able to usher them out of the way first, making her miss. Around them, pandemonium broke loose as the teens scattered, fleeing the gym to the new tune of the ghost girl’s cackle.

“Let’s get out of here!” Fred exclaimed, grabbing Shaggy’s hand and running towards the exit.

Velma, Daphne, and Scooby followed closely behind. The ghost girl chased after them down the hall, her claws scraping against the locker as she groaned, emitting terrible scraping sounds as metal was torn. The gang broke off to try different doors, but to no avail.

“Like, they’re all locked!”

“Hold on, I got an idea,” Daphne said, breaking off from the group.

“Hey, isn’t that Alice’s locker?” Fred asked.

“Yep, and this is the key to the basement.”

Taking the key, the gang unlocked the basement’s door, getting inside. Shaggy quickly closed it behind them before Scooby peeked through the lock’s hole.

“Whew, she rone.”

“Hey, you guys, look at this,” Velma said, calling upon their attention.

“That’s the same backpack from the Carlswell crypt,” Daphne pointed out, observing the bag that Velma had found on a nearby table.

“Those are Alice’s clothes,” Fred adds.

“Along with Carlswell’s Creeper costume,” Velma finished.

“Like, man, I don’t get it. Why would a ghost girl need to change clothes?”

“She wouldn’t, unless she’s not a real ghost.”

“Gang, I think we’re getting close to solving this mystery. Only one thing left to do,” Fred says with a smirk, a trap formulating in his mind.

Back inside the gym, darkness and silence still laid upon it, not a person in sight. Balloons were already starting to float down from the ceiling, and the disco ball remained completely still. The ghost girl ripped the gym doors open, her cold eyes ripping over the room in search of her victims.

When the lights switched back on, she let out a shriek, shielding her eyes as music began playing once again. Her eyes narrowing, she looked to the stage, where Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, and Daphne were playing the instruments discarded by the fleeing band.

“What is this?” the ghost girl spat, her fingers flexing in and out of fists as she stalked forward.

“What you wanted. Me, one last dance,” Fred said, standing to the side of the stage, his arms open.

“I’ll destroy you all!”

As soon as she began sprinting towards Fred, his opening demeanor dropped.

“Now!” he yelled, ducking.

One of the lights zipped down its line, a rope hanging from it. Just as the ghost girl lunged at him, the light stopped falling, lining up perfectly. Her arms being outstretched to attack was her downfall, as her hands slipped through the rope. The loop tightened as she was pulled back up towards the ceiling, leaving her to thrash and dangle in the air.

“Let me go!” she barked, baring her sharp teeth.

“Hazy fantasie, Fred. Didn’t you hear me when I said ‘If you see a ghost girl, do not go to the prom with her,’?” Mayor Jones asked, stepping into the gym with Sheriff Stone in tow.

“Don’t worry, Dad. She may look like a ghost girl, but in reality she’s,” Fred replies, pausing to take off the ghost girl’s mask upon her being lowered to the ground by the gang, “Alice May. Or she’s also known as-”

“Alice Carlswell,” the gang finishes as one.

“Carlswell? As in Deacon Carlswell? The Creeper?” the sheriff asks.

“That’s right. He was my father,” Alice says, still trying to free her hands from the rope, “When Daddy was imprisoned, I vowed revenge on those who put him there. I used his old costume to construct my own. When I found the legend of the ghost girl online, I was ready to spring my trap.

“I grabbed that fool, Randy, to throw you all off the track, and I kept him hidden and fed in my father’s crypt until I could let him go. After that, it was just a matter of getting rid of your precious leader, Fred. I wanted to destroy your gang the way you destroyed my father! And I would have succeeded, too, if it weren’t for you meddling...schoolmates...of mine.”

The gang looked to Fred, Daphne putting her hand on his shoulder. The sheriff replaced the rope with handcuffs, and Alice was escorted to his police car. They, along with the mayor, drove off in the direction of the county jail, leaving the gang in the school’s parking lot. As they also moved to get into the Mystery Machine to go home, Daphne noticed the same backpack as before resting against the tire of the van.

“Oh, no. The sheriff forgot to take Alice’s backpack for evidence.”

Daphne quickly picked up the backpack, and, in her haste, failed to notice that the bag wasn’t secured. Out of it fell a Crystal Cove High yearbook, but not one from the current year. Velma picked it up and began examining the front cover.

“Hey, look. There’s a page marked,” Fred points out.

Flipping to the page, Daphne’s eyes are the first to light up upon recognizing the faces in the photo.

“It’s them, the kids who disappeared.”

“Check out the caption-Brad Chiles, Ricky Owens, Cassidy Williams, Judy Reeves, and Mascot Professor Pericles, Crystal Cove High’s Mystery Solvers Club: Mystery Incorporated,” Velma read aloud.

“Wow. I like that name,” Fred says, peering over Velma’s shoulder.

“Like, these kids were just like us.”

“Question is, why did they disappear?” Daphne asked, although she knew that none of them had the answer yet.

The real mystery hiding beneath Crystal Cove, a mystery that led to the disappearance of four youths, a mystery whose time has come to be solved loomed over them, waiting for their answers to be discovered, whether they would come to have wanted the truth or not.


End file.
